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I just went on a seminar-cultural tour of Sariaya Quezon. We were with a research team from University of the Philippines who were making an Interdisciplinary Research on an Alternative Model Towards a community-Based Sustainable Tourism. It was my first time to be in Sariaya and it turned out to be a very interesting tour.

Sariaya is best known for its natural resources mainly the beaches and Mt. Banahaw. It was a four-hour drive from Marikina. When our coaster reached the town, it was raining so the group decided to go in first at the town’s most revered parish.

Experience Sariaya Now. Click below to read and see everything.

The Parokya ni San Francisco de Asisisi (St. Francis of Assisi Parish) is more than a symbol of faith and spirituality for Sariayahins, it is also the seasonal life of the town.

Our next stop was the municipal hall of Sariaya. The whole front of the building was adorned with colorful hats, vegetables and fruits on the trees, walls and everywhere. It was like stepping into a Pahiyas festival community. Sariaya like other towns in Quezon, also thrive in farming. They have vast natural resources and they are very proud that their farmers are now into organic farming. The city administrator told us that in their town, you can buy fruits and vegetables about 50 to 70 percent cheaper than their prices in Manila.

The best part of the trip was eating breakfast — a full breakfast consisting of local kakanins, breads, and other native dishes. Every locality usually have their native food or dish, with Sariaya, it is pinagong, a turtle-shaped bread (maybe the reason why it’s called pinagong). It’s a delicious bread, more like monay for tagalogs and in eating it, the hotter the better.

The Sariaya Municipal Hall symbolizes the political life of the town and more. It is one the landmarks of the town along with the plaza, the old mansions, and the church. The Sariaya government prepared the municipal building for their mock agawan festival so their guests would be able to experience it. The mayor warned us it could get rough once the fest starts. In a real agawan fiesta, households, usually from the upper and middle class, would adorn the walls of their houses with fruits, vegetable or any ornaments. The town folks would then parade the figure of St. Francis around the town. During the parade, participants may get everything that was on the houses and they will do everything including climbing walls or pushing and pulling others to get to the displays. Everything they get their hands on is theirs.

In our mock agawan fest, all that you see in my photo of the municipal hall was part of the agawan. I was only able to get a colorful hat and basket, thanks to two kind Sariayahins. In my and my friends’ excitement to be part of the agawan, we were unmindful of the rowdy crowd and the falling trees on top of our head. We were fortunate to go home unscathed though.

We experienced more Sariaya customs during the tour like their annual strong>pabasa which was familiar to me since in Marikina, my nanay was the organizer of our community pabasa during holy week. Of course, part of the pabasa tradition would be serving of foods to the bumabasa (readers), this part we did not miss. This time, we ate tamalis, another local delicacy consisted of sticky rice with coconut milk steamed in banana leaves.

Another custom was the paawitan, an old tradition depicting the life of Sariayahins through music. The paawitan was held in the plaza and the watchers which included me were either sitting or standing around the awiteros (singers). While a singer sings, another would pass around wine (usually tuba, a local wine made of coconut) for the watchers to drink. The singer also drinks wine during the performance and when he/she becomes drunk, it is then time to pass around the microphone to someone in the crowd who in turn would sing.

Although habhab or eating pansit habhab is not an original Sariayan tradition, it has become one of theirs being part of Quezon. I would never forget also this trip because it was my first time to eat a pansit habhab and doing it the traditional way just like my friends in the photo.

Of course, the trip to Sariaya, the Vigan of the Eastern Part of the Philippines, would not be complete without peeking at their century old mansions and houses. The first house we went to was called the White House or the Marquez’ Mansion. This used to be a private house which was designed by Andres Luna de san Pedro, the son of Juan Luna. The house was more European than Western. It was very beautiful and it was like stepping into a time machine bringing me back to the times of our ancestors. The furniture were adorable and every detail of the house spells history although it was already restored.

We also went to another ancestral house, this time, the Gala Rodriguez Ancestral House. This house was made in the ’30s by Juan Nakpil, a Filipino National Artist. The house was very adorable and its history was fascinating. We even went down the secret cellar of the house where the owners used to hide the matron of the house, Doña Carmen, from an adoring Japanese Officer who occupied the house as their base. The Gala Ancestral House now serves as a restaurant where we had our dinner.

At the end of the day, we were tired but I was very happy of my Sariaya Experience. Thank you to the UP Research team, to the Sariaya Municipal Government especially to their mayor and the municipal administrator, and to the local townsfolk who were very kind to us.

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